My sister turned me on to Alabama Chanin. Steeped in Deep South mythology, the company makes pretty, hand-sewn, quilted and beaded clothing and home accessories, primarily made with recycled cotton jersey. There’s something romantic and rustic about the designs, which often feature frayed edges and visible knots.
When I got my hands on a copy of Alabama Stitch Book by company founder and designer Natalie Chanin, I recruited my sister to test out one of the DIY projects in the book. We chose a tea towel to keep things simple and because I thought a pretty tea towel would make drying duty during cottage kitchen cleanup a little more pleasant.
Many of the projects in the book can be made using old cotton T-shirts, and involve layering two colours and cutting out a pattern to reveal the second fabric underneath.
My sister felt the technique was a little finicky for a beginner like her, but that sewers with a more experience won’t have any problems with some of the fine work. She would modify this project by adding a backing layer to hide the strip of fabric that fills in the cutout pattern, to make the tea towel double-sided. And that’s the fun of DIY, isn’t it? You always find a way to make each project your own.
PS- Apparently the biscuit recipe in the book is quite good, although of course my sister didn’t see fit to share any of her test baking with me.



